Known to be a secretive group, the Boehringer/Von Baumbach’s net worth is said to be a combined $42.2 billion, based on their ownership of Germany’s second-largest drug manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim, a nearly 140-years-old company. It started in 1885 when Albert Boehringer bought a small tartar factory in Germany. He began producing tartaric acid for use in the food industry, mainly in baking soda and carbonated drinks. By 1893, commercial success was achieved with the creation of lactic acid on an industrial scale, enabling significant investment in the research and development of new drugs that eventually meant it became one of the leading drug makers in the world. In 2015, Albert Boehringer’s great-grandson took over as CEO, and the company remains entirely family-run. Estimates put a market value of $45 billion on the company with a younger, more ambitious generation set to boost sales by almost 60 per cent by 2025.
